Alex Mercer
Alex Mercer, also known as The Prototype or by his codename Zeus, was the former head researcher of the Blacklight project at Gentek. After learning that those affiliated with the project were being killed one by one, Alex tried to flee out of the city with a vial of his research. Cornered at Penn Station, Alex was forced to utilize the vial, and smashed it to the floor, unleashing the deadly virus onto the area, which later cover all of Manhattan Island. After awaking at a Gentek facility with no recollection of his past, Alex Mercer escapes the building, and soon discovers his new found powers and abilities, granted by the virus he unleashed. With this, he begins to utilize his powers in order to learn more of his fragmented past, as he scoured all of New York for those responsible. Biography Early life Born as Alexander J. Mercer,James Winniger Alex experienced a brutal childhood spent in abject poverty; his first nine years were spent in foster care. When he turned 10, he was finally returned to his mother, who had spent the last nine years in prison, but for Alex it was better to be in foster care. He was the only parental figure for his sister, Dana. However, his intellect and aptitude in science provided him an opportunity to leave behind his troubled past. He trusted no one, had no friends, couldn't care less what others thought of him, and found solace only in his work. When he was hired by Gentek, Alex was a borderline sociopath.Prototype After earning a doctorate in genetics at Columbia University, Mercer was hired by Gentek and became the head of the Blacklight project at Gentek. Alex's team was tasked with engineering weaponized viruses from samples given to them by the government. The samples that were provided exhibited curious behavior, including mimicry and retention of genetic information from infected hosts. With Alex’s help, the team soon engineered a particularly virulent and potent virus codenamed "Blacklight". Alex’s skill in altering genes made him a valuable asset to Gentek; his work was years ahead of his nearest competitor.Web of Intrigue Despite his successes, Alex Mercer was considered a potential liability by Blackwatch, an elite army created to combat exotic threats. Over time, Gentek became scrutinized by Congress and investigations were proposed. Fearing an information leak, Blackwatch decided to cover it all up. Alex, due to his paranoid nature, began to launch his own secret investigation on Gentek. With the assistance of his sister Dana, an investigative reporter, Alex realized that Gentek employees associated with the Blacklight project were being silenced by Blackwatch; usually with a bullet between the eyes in a dark alley. When he learned that a general purge was about to be unleashed upon the Gentek scientists, Alex fled, fearing for his life. In the event he was caught, Alex had brought insurance—he had smuggled a vial of the Blacklight virus out of quarantine and taken it with him, and mailed a laptop with classified documents to Dana. But Blackwatch was too quick and too smart for him. While attempting to escape the city by train, Alex was cornered in Penn Station by Blackwatch agents. In a fit of vengeance and rage, he threw the vial to the floor, smashing it and unleashing a biological apocalypse. He was promptly shot by Blackwatch operatives. The virus began to slowly and quietly spread to everyone in the station. As he fell, he collapsed onto the viral sample, becoming infected as he died. His body was taken back to Gentek with a body bag. Little did they know that, as he was transported, the virus was reconstructing his body, cell by cell; his biological matter feeding the virus as it replicated the still-living matter it had infected. Prototype The Awakening Alex wakes up in a morgue on a slab just before two scientists attempt to cut open his torso with a scalpel. The two men panic and leave, terrified of Mercer. Alex doesn't understand why they're so frightened and doesn't remember anything about his previous life. He runs after the scientists in an attempt to escape. Though Alex is now an amnesiac, he realizes that the Blackwatch soldiers are doing something wrong when he watches them kill the two scientists trying to alert the authorities to his reanimation. The soldiers notice him and he jumps meters in the air, easily scaling a chain-link fence. After escaping, he finds himself trapped in Manhattan, being pursued by the military. He soon discovers that he has the capability to consume others and take on their appearance and memories, along with their special skills. With no recollection of where he came from, Alex decides to track down those responsible for his situation and consume them in order to uncover the truth behind what has been done to him, caught between the Blackwatch Special Forces and an ever growing virus-infected population. On consuming Lt. Charles Perri he learns the whereabouts of his sister. Mercer hopes that his sister, Dana, may have some information regarding what happened to him, so he tries to makes contact with her. However, when he arrives to her apartment, he sees soldiers stationed around the building, so he consumes a Blackwatch commander to take on their appearance and manages to get in. When Alex enters he sees Dana being held by a Blackwatch soldier. Dana headbutts the Blackwatch soldier before Alex impales him with his fist. Dana is terrified from having witnessed this, but Alex convinces her to help him. Dana tells Alex that she knew there was something wrong going on at Gentek. When she asks Alex what happened to him, he tells her that he doesn't know. She then reminds Alex that he had her researching the Gentek organization for weeks. When she was looking for him to relay her findings, he had already disappeared. The conversation incites a flashback, in which Alex sees the ID card of Dr. McMullen. When he snaps back to the conversation, Dana tells him that she hadn't seen him for five years until he showed up at her door a month before the events of the game. Alex asks her if there is somewhere they can go to avoid the military's pestering. She says she knows a place. They relocate to a safe house that belongs to Dana's friends, who are out of town for a year. On the wall, Alex sees several photos and files bearing the words "TOP SECRET." and there is a Map with two location marked on it Alex's Apartment and Gentek facility. Alex asks Dana if she knows what it all means. She says that she doesn't, but insists that the two of them work together to uncover whatever conspiracies are at work. Dana tells Alex that Blackwatch was waiting for her at her apartment, figuring that they must also be waiting at his. Dana tells Alex where he lives. Alex arrives at his apartment and sees a photo of him and Dana and a graduate certificate from the University of New York. He also sees a photo of him with a blonde woman (Karen Parker). When he touches the photo he experiences a flashback in which he sees himself with Karen, his ex-girlfriend. When the flashback is over, it becomes apparent that the onset of these flashbacks are painful to him. Just as he was recovering, Blackwatch detonates a bomb that had been planted in the apartment, meant to kill him. He astonishingly survives, despite having been thrown out of a window and down to the streets several stories below. Alex hunts down and consumes the man who gave the order to detonate the bomb. The Truth Alex returns to the safe house where Dana shows him his laptop, stored on which are photographs of a girl. Alex recognizes the girl. Dana tells him that the file has only two names in it: Alex Mercer and Elizabeth Greene, the girl in the photo. The file also says that she is being isolated in the Gentek building. He also locates his ex-girlfriend, Karen Parker. Dana continues to assist Mercer in locating his targets, while Karen promises him a cure for his disease. She first claims that he needs to find her different samples of the virus destroying Manhattan, but once he arrives in a Hive, Alex is ambushed by Blackwatch specialist Captain Robert Cross who uses both the infected and his own soldiers as cannon fodder while he tries to take Alex down. Mercer ends up defeating him, but Cross turns the tables by distracting Alex with a flashback of 'Penn Station' and injecting a biological weapon into his back through a syringe. Due to the parasite within the injection, Alex can't use his special powers aside from super strength and speed. He still manages to escape from Blackwatch. Alex returns to Dana who shows him that Blackwatch is keeping an eye on a doctor for McMullen, Dr. Bradley Ragland. Dana then tells Alex that this doctor is a good guy and if he finds him, he can help them get to McMullen. Before Alex leaves, she shows him what she found about Hope, Idaho and Greene when Alex says Hope was an experiment. She asks how he could know that, making Alex admit that he's killed a great number of people and their minds and memories are now within him. Dana was shocked for what her brother has become. However, with the help of Dr. Ragland, Mercer was cured, leading him to get his abilities back (gaining the blade and armor powers as a result). During all of this, Mercer is placed as the number one terrorist threat in the entire United States due to treasonous activities against the United States and her allies. During one of Alex and Dana's meetings, Dana is kidnapped by a Leader Hunter (an ultimately larger and stronger hunter than the rest). Alex pursues this Leader Hunter across the city, but is ultimately unable to rescue Dana. With the help of Dr. Ragland, Alex locates and consumes the same Leader Hunter that kidnapped Dana, learning that her location in the core hive in the center of the city. Alex is eventually able to penetrate the hive, where he confronts Elizabeth Greene. Elizabeth Greene tells Alex that she is his mother. During a struggle, Greene seemingly bests Alex, but he is able to inject Greene with a syringe containing the parasite. Greene's body rejects the parasite and spouts a large amount of fluid biomatter, from which a Supreme Hunter is born. Alex defeats the Supreme Hunter and saves Dana. As he leaves, Alex steps in a puddle of the Supreme Hunter's biomass, upsetting and re-awakening it. A sinister clawed hand begins to regenerate and rises from the puddle. A New Beginning As the conspiracy unfolds, with the assistance of an unidentified contact, the origins of Mercer, the virus and Elizabeth Greene are uncovered. In 1969, the government had tested a virus codenamed Redlight in Hope, Idaho. This virus was designed as a biological warfare agent, targeting those of a predetermined race. The virus unexpectedly mutated into something far deadlier, infecting the whole population of Hope. Elizabeth Greene was the sole survivor of the incident; her body welcomed the virus rather than dying from it and it had rewritten her genetic code, along with that of her son, who was taken from her by Blackwatch and codenamed Pariah. This inspired the government to continue research into the virus, cooperating with the Gentek corporation. Scientists at Gentek locked Greene in a cell which had been used to research Blacklight, the new virus present in Greene. They continued to study the different strains of the virus that formed throughout her system as a means of accelerating the biological weapons program. Before long, the military begins deploying a new biological agent, Bloodtox, engineered to kill the virus and its hosts. When the chemical is deployed across the city, the infection goes underground to escape it, and has subsequently amassed. The anonymous contact tells Mercer to aid the military in pumping the Bloodtox directly into the ground. They hope that it will drive the virus to the surface, allowing Blackwatch to fight it directly. Elizabeth Greene, now a giant monster, comes to the surface and is killed and consumed by Mercer. He then attempts to confront McMullen, the Head of Research and founder of Gentek, after a grueling battle with marines and Blackwatch to get to his target. McMullen commits suicide before Mercer has the chance. It becomes apparent that Randall planned to nuke Manhattan to destroy the virus. The contact, revealed to be Captain Cross, then guides Mercer to consume Colonel Taggart, who is attempting to flee the city, in order to get onto the USS Ronald Reagan where the bomb is being held. Cross betrays Mercer once on the ship, and is revealed to be the Supreme Hunter. It battles Mercer on the deck of the Reagan and is subsequently decapitated by Mercer. Mercer takes the nuclear bomb into the Atlantic Ocean, allowing it to detonate out at sea but taking out Alex in the process. His remains are splattered into red puddles, seemingly inert, but once disturbed by a crow, he grows back into a human shape. Alex walks off thinking to himself "What have I become? Something less than human, but also something more...", referring to how he has become an invincible and practically immortal being at the cost of his humanity. Later, Manhattan is seen in a recovering state, with the virus almost completely destroyed. Prototype 2 For the next 14 months Mercer watched from the shadows as the city rebuilt itself; Alex Mercer, the strongest being in the New York Zero—a living legend. With his primary foes consumed or destroyed, Alex Mercer took up residence in NYZ's Red Zone. Some time later, Mercer comes across a troop of soldiers entering the heart of the infected zone, with all but one man in the unit killed in this assault. Mercer watches as the mortally injured man tries to take as many infected with him as possible, and spotted him atop the building he stood on, and gave chase. In the confrontation between the two, Mecer is impressed by Heller's grit and implausible survival of this slaughter. He decides that Heller would serve as a perfect "lieutenant" in his plot to spread the virus beyond NYZ, and infects the dying man with the virus, thus making Heller "his" Prototype.EGM Magazine March 2011 issue Powers & Abilities Once reanimated by the Blacklight virus, every particle of Alex's form, including his clothing and equipment, becomes comprised entirely of viral biomass. This substance can be manipulated at will. He can absorb the organic matter of other living creatures, converting it into more biomass. This process sustains and regenerates Alex's health and is referred to as 'consuming'. In addition, Alex can consume individuals, absorbing their knowledge, skills, and even their physical form, which he can call upon at will. He can manipulate his physical form to create weapons to attack his enemies, generate armor to defend himself, and take on the appearance of another person to disguise himself. Physical Prowess Alex's shapeshifting powers grant him superhuman physical abilities well beyond that of a normal Human. * Superhuman Strength: His incredible strength allows him to lift cars, trucks, the destroyed remains of tanks, APCs, and helicopters and throw them great distances. He is far stronger than any normal human or most basic Infected, able to kill a regular human with a single, glancing blow and manhandle the infectious residents of Manhattan. Alex is capable of punching holes through almost anything if necessary, including a two foot steel door. * Superhuman Speed: Alex's speed is likewise enhanced. He can achieve running speeds surpassing vehicles. * Superhuman Agility: He can perform amazing parkour feats such as flips and rolls and maneuvers over and around vehicles and debris with little trouble. His leg strength allows him to leap nearly ten stories into the air. Alex can run up sheer vertical surfaces and cling to walls for an indefinite period of time. Alex is also capable of gliding, by making his biomass lighter in the air and ejecting small amounts of mass for further propulsion. * Superhuman Endurance: Mercer's endurance far exceeds that of a human's by leaps and bounds. His body no longer possesses weak bones or vital organs, rendering him immune to otherwise debilitating injury. This biological change allows him to survive falls from any height completely unharmed. Bullets of any caliber will pass through his body, causing very little damage that heals instantly. He can withstand direct hits from hellfire missiles and tank shells, which cause only moderate damage. The superhumanly strong blows of the various type of Hunters and super soldiers cause the most damage of any type of attack. His superhuman stamina allows him to be physically active at all times without tire. * Healing Factor: Alex's body has vast powers of self-regeneration. So long as he is properly nourished, Alex can restore his health and heal any wounds within moments. He can heal a small amount of his health even without consuming any creature. Examples include regenerating bullet wounds instantly after being shot, regenerating a massive hole in his face after being shot point-blank by General Randall, and reconstructing his entire physical form from non-descript piles of biomass and the biomass of a crow within minutes of being blown apart by a nuclear explosion. Alex also seems to have a robust immune system. Though unable to counter a parasite which had been introduced into his body without outside help, he gained a growing immunity to bloodtox with repeat exposure. * Superhuman Senses: Alex's vision and hearing is enhanced, allowing him to see beyond the visible spectrum and hear across great distances even with physical insulation. He has thermal vision which allows him to locate heat signatures, and infected vision which can detect large concentrations of the virus and tap into the hive mind itself. Offensive Powers Alex can form his biomass into a variety of weapons, mostly slicing or crushing tools. In combat, he either uses biomass to augment his strength or create various blades and clubs. Defensive Powers Alex can use two defensive powers, guarding him against enemy attacks and weapons. Alex has two forms of defense, the Armor, and the Shield. Disguise Power Alex has the ability to assume the physical form of any human he's consumed, though for gameplay purposes the player is limited to the last human they consumed. In this manner, Alex can infiltrate the military as one of them, duck out of sight and emerge as someone else to evade pursuit, and in general avoid drawing attention by disguising himself as someone else. Appearance While the virus itself can take anybody's form by consuming them, in its typical form, Zeus looks exactly identical to the deceased Gentek scientist Alex Mercer due to the Blacklight Virus copying Mercer's body and recreating it on the genetic level. Alex has very pale skin, probably a result of being the Blacklight Virus, because his skin appeared tanner in his picture with Karen Parker. His eyes constantly have a sickly gray tinting around them and he has light blue eyes. While barely seen without his hood, he has curly brown hair that he supposedly keeps it slicked backed, although it's not known exactly what his hair looks like now because he never drops his hood. The "clothes" worn by Mercer aren't actually clothes, but biomass, mimicking the outfit Alex Mercer wore to Penn Station the night of his death. On his upper body he wears three layers of clothes: the first is a button up white shirt that's not buttoned all the way up, the second is a plain gray hoodie that he, again, always keeps up, and the last is a black leather jacket with a red tribal design on the back. On his lower body he wears plain blue jeans and plain black shoes. It should be noted that Alex's clothing is physically a part of his anatomy and therefore he is unable to take them off without shapeshifting. Trivia * In the beta of Prototype, Alex was depicted with a black bubble jacket and white hoodie. He was later changed so as to differ from Altaïr from Assassin's Creed. * It is mentioned in a bio for Alex, located on the official Prototype website, that he has blue eyes and brown hair, although in game his eyes appear bluish-silver, and his hair is in fact black. His bio also states that he is five feet and ten inches (5'10"), weighs 190 pounds in completely human form, and is twenty-nine years old.Prototype Official Website * His official bio also states his "personality traits" which are: distant, predatory, super-intelligent, terrifying, vengeful, blank, and searching. * In an Web of Intrigue node, it is speculated by Blackwatch operatives that Alex is the first and only male Runner in the history of the evolution of Blacklight virus. * When you activate a power, stand idle for a few minutes. Alex will do some action that resembles his current power. Ex. With the musclemass, he beats his fists together. * Alex's jacket colors are the colors of the two major factions in the game, Blackwatch and The Infected. * Tim Bennison, the executive producer of Prototype, described Alex Mercer as one of the most powerful video game characters ever created. * Dennis Detwiller, the senior designer of Prototype, said there is "no cute fuzzy bunny in Alex Mercer's future." This suggests that he'll continue to be hunted by the military and other Infected. * NECA released an action figurine of Mercer with his Blade power active. Gallery Prototype-2-Announced.jpg|Alex as seen launch trailer Heller infected.png|Alex Mercer infecting James Heller. Stolen body 1.png|Alex along with Bradley Ragland. P2 My Name Is Mercer Poster.jpg|Mercer's Prototype 2 promotional poster P2 18.jpg P2 1.jpg Notes and Reference Category:Characters Category:Prototype Comic Character Category:Prototype Characters Category:Prototype 2 Characters Category:Infected Characters